Sei Solo: A Star Wars Story
by TsarSaltansSwan
Summary: When his parents are out on a post-war press tour, a teenage Ben Solo stumbles into the lawless Tatooinian hamlet of Mos Laidas, where he finds himself among newfound friends and enemies as he begins to experiment with drugs, sex, petty crime and the Dark Side. (Beta-read by the lovely norxcoffee on tumblr.)
1. Chapter 1: Lawless Streets

Ben had forgotten three things about the planet of Tatooine. One, it actually gets freezing cold in the desert at night. Two, eight o'clock at night is when it starts dipping down into the teens (at least in Fahrenheit), and three, roaming the sandy dunes alone at night feels like a death sentence if you forget to bring a coat. These were common sense things that everyone knew, but Ben Lorennion Solo, famous first born son of the war heroes Han Solo and Leia Organa, forgot in the heat of the moment.

 _"Stupid, stupid, stupid,"_ he said to himself as he shuffled across the sand, shivering.

He was home only an hour ago. He was warm, he was cozy, he had fed himself for the night, but it was quiet. Too quiet, in fact. In his mind's eye, he could see himself pacing back and forth across the floor just to hear the sound of his own footsteps. He tried putting in that "Learn Huttese in a Snap" CD his parents gave him so he could get around the neighboring hamlets without having to mime. Problem was, listening to that thing was just about as exciting as watching grass grow or paint dry, if not less so. He hummed and sang to himself till he could hum and sing no more. The bottom line was that silence drove Ben crazy, especially when he was home alone for days on end.

Thirty minutes ago, in a silence-driven panic, Ben got an absolutely awful idea. He wanted noise, light, motion and color and knew exactly where he could get the stimulation he craved; the neighboring village of Mos Laidas. He could wander the town, get a bite to eat, and then, as soon as he got word that his parents were coming, he could hurry home and no-one would be any wiser. Soon, as if possessed by what could only be a ghost, he packed a bag with a jar of money, a few changes of clothes, and some snacks for the road. Other than his jacket, it was all he needed.

It was too bad that he forgot the jacket.

 _"Stupid, stupid, stupid,"_ Ben kept muttering to himself as his teeth chattered with the wind.

He didn't even know if he was going the right way. For all he knew, this "Mos Laidas" place was up his ass and to the left. He heard his parents warn him not to go there many times, in many ways, but they weren't home, what did they care? What did he care? He didn't, and that's exactly why he was walking among the dunes, freezing his choobies off to find this place.

Soon, the darkness which enveloped the desert sands was broken by a bright patch of light. Ben's eyes lit up as his spirit was lifted by hope. In the back of his mind, he knew it could be a red herring, but still, powered by hope, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him up the sand dune.

At the top he could clearly see a small town, all aglow in the night.

"So, this is Mos Laidas," he mumbled to himself. "Nice little place."

He ran down the dune to the town, each of his steps becoming shorter, choppier and flatter as he ran. People flooded the streets as light and sound seemed to dance around him. He heard chattering, clanging, and inebriated singing meld together as it entered his ears. There was light, color, movement; life.

What a change in scenery, indeed.

As Ben looked around, the place had a nostalgic sense of familiarity. Though he had never been to the town before, a part of him, however small, knew these lawless streets well, as well as how dangerous they could be.

That meant nothing to him now. All he could think of was finding a place to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: You Lose

He had to find a place to sleep. He had to. After roaming around for a while, Ben could feel himself giving out as an aching fatigue spread from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. His eyelids became heavier with every second as his feet began dragging across the ground. He had come across a quiet part of town when the burgeoning puddle of goo that was once his brain began spilling out of his mouth.

"I need... an inn... somewhere to sleep..." he thought out loud, almost yelling to himself.

No-one was listening. He had to keep himself awake. He had to.

Just around the corner, there was an arcade, or rather, just one sleepy little outcropped shop with a solitary old pinball machine in it. He heard the dings and bumps from a good distance away, and from it, got an idea.

"Pinball..." he said to no-one in particular. "Of course. Video games always keep me awake."

So, in an almost drunken fashion, he sauntered through the door to the pinball machine. Once he was there, he pushed a few coins into it and watched the decaying mechanical monstrosity come to life as he put his hands at the ready.

As he played, though, he felt the creeping sensation of a pair of eyes, maybe two, watching him from the shadows. There were whispers, very small whispers that he could only make out if he focused on them instead of his game, but he could still hear them speaking in hushed tones amongst themselves.

Ben tried to make out what they were saying, even though he was on his last ball.

"Uh, yeah, he looks like a good candidate," he heard one say.

"He's about the right age, too. Looks exactly like the old guy," he heard another say.

All the while he was pushing the flippers like crazy to avoid losing and attracting attention to himself.

Lost in thought on why these people were taking such an interest in him, the last ball went back down into the machine as it said something in Huttese to the effect of "YOU LOSE".

As if on cue, two young figures stepped out of the shadows.

Ben turned around quickly as his body froze up. His shoulders hunched and he shrunk back.

"Who... who are you people?" he asked, his voice quivering as the rest of him did.

"We won't answer that till you tell us who you are," said one of the mysterious boys.

Ben was quick to hit back. "Nuh-uh, I won't tell you anything until you tell me who you are!" he said, speaking rapidly, as he tried to puff out his chest to make himself look bigger.

At this point, it was a verbal tennis match as to who was going to give themselves up first. "Do you really think we're gonna give ourselves up to a stranger?" the other boy asked in an almost condescending manner.

"And do you really think I'm gonna do the same?" Ben asked, using the same patronising tone of voice, almost as if he was trying to fight fire with fire.

The two strange boys looked at each other and then began whispering in each other's ears. After a minute or two of whispering, they turned to Ben with their hands behind their backs.

"I think it's about time we introduced ourselves," the first boy said. "I'm Elias, and this is Wolf." Wolf looked over to Ben with furrowed brows and odd stoicism. He raised his hand slightly, as if to wave, but never started.

Elias looked over to Ben. "Now, who are you?"

Ben looked down and started shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "I'm... Ben," he said, trying to hide the fact that what just happened was a nightmare scenario for him.

Elias and Wolf gave each other a knowing look and a small smile before turning back to Ben.

"Good to meet ya, Ben! Welcome to the club!" he said as he smiled and swiftly offered his hand.

Ben, though reluctantly, gave him a hearty handshake in return.


	3. Chapter 3: Warm, Wet Welcome

Elias started up again. "So, now that you're part of the club," he said, looking around, "we can actually show you the club. Here, watch."

He pushed a part of the wall which seemed to stick out a little. A part of the stone and clay wall by it made a small doorway and grinded against the other walls as it slid to the left. Soon, it revealed a small room with beanbags, pillows and mattresses, as well as bushels and strings of fairy lights, which were strung about the place as if it was Life Day all year long.

Ben's eyes went wide. "Woah," was all he could say.

"Yeah, buddy, 'whoa' is right," Elias said, smirking as he nudged Ben with his elbow. "It's been home sweet home for me and Wolf for... I'd say about two, three years."

Wolf looked over and gave a "hm" and a nod of approval, nothing more.

Ben began looking around the place.There were a couple of lava lamps in the corners, as well as a few speakers next to a small subwoofer.

"Hey, where'd you guys get all this stuff?" Ben asked, hoping he wasn't sounding stupid.

Elias' eyes darted to the left and right as he spoke. "Uhh... we... borrowed them."

Ben knew what he meant immediately, he wasn't stupid. "You mean, you stole them?"

"Yeah, but here, petty theft is par for the course," Elias said with patronizing conviction.

Ben already couldn't stand this guy. "Um, duh! That's like, Life on Tatooine 101!" he said, desperately trying to sound like he had at least two brain cells somewhere in his head. Yet, he was failing, and hard.

At that point, they had nothing more to say to each other. That was where their conversation had reached fever pitch, and it should have ended there. But, somehow, it didn't. They kept staring at each other with squinted eyes and furrowed brows, looking up and down the other's body, almost as if they were sizing each other up. Elias squinted harder as Ben snarled and flared his nostrils.

Then, as quick as the incident started, it ended. The boys walked away from each other as if nothing happened and flopped down on beanbags on the opposite sides of the room, sulking.

Two minutes later, Wolf sauntered over and sat down on a beanbag next to Ben. He looked over to Elias to make sure he wasn't looking or listening, then locked onto the pits of Ben's eyes.

"So, you said you needed a place to sleep?" he asked, his low, husky voice resonating in the small space around them.

Ben thought back to when he was yelling to no one in the streets and quickly responded. "Yeah, I did. Why'd you ask?"

"We've got mattresses, blankets, and pillows. Make yourself at home," Wolf murmured, still watching Elias' every move.

Ben heaved a sigh of relief. "Thanks, man," he said as he yawned. "I really owe you one." He then drunkenly shuffled over to grab a blanket and a pillow, then flopped over on one of the mattresses, with his pillow and blanket still in tow.

By that time, Ben had wrapped himself up and was slowly drifting into sleep. He yawned one last time before saying, "Goodnight, guys. See ya in the morning." He then closed his eyes and drifted off into sweet, unconscious oblivion.

Little did he know, he was making a _big_ mistake.

Hours later, Ben was still fast asleep on the mattress, lying on his side with his knees pulled towards his chest and his head bowed. The two boys stood over him on one side, wondering how they were going to pull this off.

Wolf gripped a glass of warm water from the local bathhouse. "So, what are we even going to do?" he murmured.

Elias got in his face and looked at him as if he was stupid. "Of course you know what we're going to do, dumbass. We talked about it for an hour. We get warm water, you stick the new guy's hand in the water, and eventually, he pees himself, he wakes up wet, we laugh and we see how much of a man he really is."

Wolf furrowed his brow and huffed. "This is the dumbest idea for an initiation rite you've ever had. Are you crazy?"

"By your standards, yes, I'm insane," Elias bit back. "Now are we doing this or what?"

Wolf stayed silent, as if to say no.

"Do it or you're out of the club," Elias snapped.

Wolf jumped and turned pale at the sound of his voice. He turned and kneeled as he placed the glass on the opposite side of the mattress, just within arm's reach from Ben. He then looked to Elias for a cue, to which Elias responded with a solitary, expressionless nod of approval. That was the green light to lift up his hand and sink it in the warm water, which he started doing gingerly and without a sound.

As he was doing this, however, his free hand slipped. It was supposed to be firmly planted on the mattress, and for most of what could be called "the operation", it was, as Wolf could feel the gentle ebb and flow of Ben's breath on it. However, in a moment of zen-like focus, the hand lifted and went where it pleased (or so it seemed) and it accidentally brushed off the hair hiding one of Ben's ears.

Elias froze. "Stop, dude. Look. Something's up with his ears."

Wolf looked to Ben, one ear now in plain sight, and then to Elias, who gave him a glare.

"Turn him over on his back," Elias said with conviction. "Brush off the hair hiding the other."

Wolf did as he was told, again, as before, gingerly and without a sound.

As soon as the deed was done, both boys stood over him, staring down in awe.

"He's got jug ears," Elias murmured.

"Yeah. He must hate 'em," Wolf whispered in reply.

Now, as the clock struck four, the two stood silent, wondering what to do with this new information.

"Forget the water," Elias growled back to Wolf. "Dump it outside. For his initiation rite, we'll try something a little more... humane."


	4. Chapter 4: Jug Ears

Even with the buzzing of the other boys during the night, Ben's slumber was long and peaceful. It was only when dawn came and the binary suns began to peek over the horizon that he began to stir. Though the little corner that the boys' secret hideaway was hidden in the inner parts of the town, the suns still found a way to peek through the one small window in the room and filter their light down onto Ben's face.

He gave a small groan as his eyelids fluttered open and he smacked his lips.

"Mornin'," he said with a yawn as he stretched out his arms and legs.

Elias and Wolf were standing above him, as though they were watching him as he slept. He jumped and gave a yelp at the sight.

"Same to you, jug ears," Elias said. He sounded like he was kidding, but somehow... wasn't.

Ben's freckle-laden face turned a light, rosy pink as he looked away and scrunched up his face in embarrassment.

"Hey," he indignantly muttered. "That's... that's not that nice, y'know."

"That's the point," Elias huffed.

"So what? You've known me for literally twenty-four hours and you think it's okay to pick on the new guy?" Ben took a defensive stance and put his dukes up. Then, he stopped, took a breath to keep himself from doing something stupid out of anger and started to squeeze the back of his neck to keep his temper at bay. "Okay, let me explain something," he said after giving an exasperated sigh. "If we had known each other longer, we'd be able to get chummy like that; you could call me Jug Ears and I could call you Shit-for-Brains, but it's not like that. In fact, you and I are kind of on shaky ground, so don't go thinking that everything is coming up roses between us."

Elias started to smirk and gave an indignant _psh_. "That's not the point, dumbass."

"Then what is?"

Suddenly, Wolf cleared his throat as if to get Elias' attention.

Elias looked over to him, and Wolf nodded his head in a beckoning manner.

Elias angrily sashayed towards him and got in his face.

"What do you want, you wermo?" he said through clenched teeth.

Wolf began to whisper. "It might be wise to stop now, Elias. He looks pretty angry, and–"

"So what if it makes him angry?"

"Yeah, but maybe he finds it embarrassing. Shameful, even. Calling him names won't–"

"I don't care if it's embarrassing or shameful, 'cuz it's the truth, and he should be able to take the truth like a man."

"Yeah, see, that's my problem. It was more like an insult and less like telling him the truth. Besides, it's not his fault he has big ears. If it was something he could fix in ten seconds, like something stuck in his teeth, I could see the use in telling him. But telling him his ears are too big and phrasing it as an *insult?* That's not cool, man."

Elias twisted his face as he tried to come up with a comeback. He couldn't argue with Wolf and his superior powers of putting himself in someone else's shoes.

"Uhh— well... if he had anything close to a penis in his pants he'd take that insult like a man and own it!" Elias puffed out his chest and stood akimbo as if he was actually proud of what he had just said.

Wolf was just plain confused. "Since when was this about his _penis_?"

"I meant that he's not a man, he isn't one of us, he's just—"

"Elias! Elias. You do realize that none of us are men, right?"

"Well, you have to act like one to get in the club!"

"No one here has ever said that. Since when did you come up with that rule? Did you pull it out of your ass after using one-ply toilet paper?"

"Oh, really, Wolf, one-ply toilet paper? Just how far are you willing to sink for the sake of your argument?"

"As far as you've been sinking for your whole life."

Elias gasped, and from that point on, Ben couldn't help but watch the two go back and forth with curses and insults, each one worse than the last. Somehow, the fight between the two of them just kept going and going, and the longer it dragged on, the more it looked like they were going to kill one another. So, Ben, sick of watching them inch closer and closer to death by the other's hand, decided that it was high time he played the part of referee and blew the proverbial whistle.

He jumped out of his seat and began to shout. **"Hey! Would you two knock it off? Somebody's gonna hear ya and call the cops!"**

His voice, the most threatening it had been in recent memory, commanded their attention simultaneously. The room went silent for a few seconds as everyone caught their breath, but to all involved, it felt like an eternity and two wars.

Ben took a breath, reached out his arms and gave both a gentle touch on the shoulder. "Okay," he said, still a little winded from yelling. "Let's work this out."

"Elias, for once, I'm going to swallow my pride and admit that my ears are pretty big. It's true, and I can't change that. However, as Wolf said a couple of minutes ago, that's no excuse to start berating me over something I have no control over, even if it is the truth. Another thing, Elias; it's my belief that no-one should have to sit and take an insult, regardless of the circumstances. Besides, this is the dumbest argument I've ever been involved in, and I think we should just leave it here."

Elias opened his mouth again. "But–"

 _"We should just leave it here,"_ Ben retorted, saying the words slowly and enunciating every single syllable. _"This argument is over. Let it go."_

Elias huffed and shot Ben a nasty look. "Psh, fine. We'll do it your way."

Just as they did last night, the two stormed over to separate sides of the room and flopped down on a beanbag, sulking.

Soon, the entire room was filled with an awkward, stagnating silence that seemed to make the air around them muggy and thick. Each one of the boys was waiting for the others to say something, anything, to break the strange spell of silence that had been cast over them.

A part of Ben didn't want to pipe up. He knew that Elias would probably beat him up if he asked a stupid question like the one he was about to ask, but the nasty pit that had started to form in his stomach told him to ask and be glad you did, no matter how painful the consequences. "Hey guys? I have one small question." He hated how meek he sounded as he spoke.

"How do you get your food?"


End file.
